Ally Financial to launch IPO in NY, seeks to raise $2.7 billion

Ally Financial Inc. is seeking an initial public offering of its shares, a process that could help United States Treasury Department divests its stake in the company. Ally seeks to raise up to $2.7 billion from the IPO. According to a regulatory filing, with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Ally said that the Treasury intends to trim its 37-percent stake in Ally to 17 percent by divesting 95 million shares for $25 to $28 each.

Ally is planning to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ALLY. “Over our 90-year history, we have successfully differentiated ourselves from our competition by providing premium services for automotive dealers,” Ally said in the filing. The IPO marks the culmination of over a three-year process for Ally.

The company originally planned to launch an IPO March 2011, but decided in June not to pursue it until equity markets improved. Ally chief executive Michael Carpenter later declared that the company had to resolve issues with its mortgage unit before restarting the IPO process. It loss-making mortgage unit entered bankruptcy in May 2012 and received court approval to terminate the process in December.

The Treasury had held a 74-percent stake in Ally, which was then trimmed to 64 percent in November 2013. It further trimmed to 37 percent in January 2014 when the Treasury sold around $3 billion of common stock to private investors. Third Point LLC said in January 2014 that it accumulated a 9.5-percent stake in Ally. According to filing, affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management LP own 8.6 percent of Ally.